


Squidnapped

by peaceandtranquility



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:53:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29321988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peaceandtranquility/pseuds/peaceandtranquility
Summary: An interpretation of Callie's disappearance from the Squid Sisters stories as told from Callie's perspective. Callie is exhausted from work and lonely from not being able to interact with Marie as much as she used to, so she sets out to find someone else to confide her feelings in. By chance, she ends up talking with DJ Octavio and feels a little better, only for the slippery DJ to pull the wool over her eyes. (Figuratively. There's no wool in Splatoon. I think.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Squidnapped

The night sky was dark and empty of any light. No stars were visible in the heart of Inkopolis. The lights from the city made it impossible to see any. The moon, on its unending cycle, was also gone. There was nothing shining in the sky as Callie finally finished recording.

Her producer praised her as always, and Callie responded in kind. Behind her smile, though, she really just wanted to crash. At least now, though, she could take a short break. A really, really short break. Just two days’ vacation before her next project started.

“I don’t wanna work anymore…” She mumbled to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. The plaza was silent, a stark contrast to how it had been just a mere two years ago. Closing her eyes, Callie remembered the days when she’d perform live with Marie. Standing on the back of trucks, separated by space but together in their songs. She opened her eyes. They haven’t sung together in ages. Callie’s heart hurt at the thought and she wanted to quickly return to the apartment to see Marie again.

“Oh…right…” Callie had seen Marie off earlier in the morning. “I forgot. Haha…” Marie was in Calamari County by now, and judging by the time, it was too late to give her a call. Callie would have to wait. Callie wasn’t good at waiting, especially not alone. Returning to the apartment no longer seemed appealing, knowing that nothing would be waiting for her.

She walked to the square, where all of the freshest Inklings gathered now that the plaza was empty, or so she’d heard. The number of Inklings hanging out amongst the brightly lit shops reminded her painfully of her loneliness. She almost melted back into the shadows when she spotted Crusty Sean’s new food truck and decided to pay him a visit. No one recognized her as she slipped by. Callie wasn’t sure if she wanted them to notice her.

A few minutes later, she was seated at one of the metal tables next to his truck. While he had been glad to see her, he couldn’t stop to talk. His position as the only food/drink provider in the square meant he was constantly being swarmed by hungry and thirsty kids. He offered her food and drink on the house as an apology, which she gladly accepted. She gazed around at the square as she bit into her – what had Sean called it? Crusty Seanwich? A unique name to go along with the equally unique sandwich. Callie inhaled the thing in seconds, washing it down with the Special-Saver Latte he’d also given her.

She was still sipping away at her drink when the large screen on the tower came to life. Like all of the Inklings around her, Callie was intrigued and turned to watch. She knew that other groups had auditioned for the announcer roles when she and Marie started pursuing bigger projects, but she had yet to see who had actually got the position. “Off the Hook, huh?” Callie could only be reminded of Marie while watching Pearl and Marina announce the current stages. If only Marie were here to watch it with her…

Callie was back on the move, still not wanting to return to an empty apartment. She wanted to find someone to talk to, someone that would listen to her, preferably without insulting her. Her wanderings took her back to the plaza. The lights were dimmer here, more comfortable for her solo walk than the harsh lights of the square. “But who could I talk to?” She asked aloud, to no one in particular. No one was around to listen anyway. “Marie’s probably asleep, Sean’s busy, and I dunno where everyone else-are?!“

She’d tripped over the manhole cover. Someone must have lifted it earlier and didn’t put it back properly. “Oh, that’s right! Gramps! I can talk to Gramps!” She pulled the cover fully off of the entrance and climbed down into its depths.

The valley was just as quiet and empty as the plaza above. The cabin was empty, a note taped against the wall. Callie pulled off the note and read it. “Huh. ‘On a research trip with Agent 3.’” Callie sighed. “I guess Gramps is out too…Should keep this for Marie though.” Callie folded up the note and put it into her bag. Suddenly remembering, she glanced around at the rest of the area.

“Phew.” Thankfully, Octavio was still in his snow globe. She supposed that Agent 3 wouldn’t have left the valley if Octavio was loose again. The fact that 3 left meant that Octavio wasn’t a big concern to her or the Captain. Callie might as well go back home. It was starting to get really late and she hadn’t found anyone to talk with. Sighing, she made her way back to the manhole and prepared herself to climb back up.

“Hey.”

“What?” Callie looked over at the only other person besides herself. “What do you want, Octavio?”

“Nothing in particular.” The DJ said. “You just look exhausted. Since I’m stuck here, I can’t do much even if you decide to vent.”

Callie scowled. She wasn’t that lonely that she’d talk to her enemy! She should just head back to the apartment, sleep, and get on the train in the morning. Her feet were already on the rungs. All she had to do was climb.

“I just feel like Marie’s going far away from me.” Callie admitted, hugging the cushion to her chest. Night in the valley was cold, and the wooden seat only sapped what little warmth she had away. “I hate not being able to see her and talk with her like we used to. Everybody keeps moving ahead, and I’m happy for them, but I don’t want to get left behind…”

“I get it.” Octavio responded.

“You do?” Callie said, surprised. “Oh, well, I guess you do. You’ve been stuck in that thing since Agent 3 defeated you. You can’t really talk to other Octarians if you’re trapped here, huh?” She couldn’t tell if Octavio nodded or not. She couldn’t actually tell where his head ended and his body began, though she was never going to say that aloud. It didn’t seem right, not he listened to all of her rambling without judging or insulting her. Even Marie would have called her way of thinking immature. Probably. “Speaking of Octarians, why did you steal the Great Zapfish in the first place?”

“You want to know that now?”

“Well, you did listen to me. I can at least hear you out.” Callie said. She may have grown up listening to her grandfather’s tales of war and helped Agent 3 defeat Octavio a year ago but she was not heartless. She had no plans of agreeing with his reasoning though. She was just going to let him talk, like how he let her vent.

The day had just passed midnight when Octavio finished explaining his side of the conflict. Callie almost felt sorry for the Octarians. No, she did feel sorry for them. She couldn’t imagine living underground with no way to see the sky or feel fresh air on her face. For all of their technological advancements, they couldn’t replicate the life that the Inklings took for granted. “If I said I wanted to help you guys, would there be anything I could do?” Callie asked, getting up from her seat. “Except for letting you out of that snow globe. I still can’t do that!” She knew the threat Octavio posed to the Inkling world. Not to mention how much Marie would scold her for pulling a stunt like that. However, she couldn’t keep living her life above while knowing how many suffered below.

“You?” Octavio seemed to look her up and down. “No. Not as you are now.”

“Oh.” What had she been expecting anyway? Even though she wanted to help, she really had no idea of how she could provide any aid. Sure, she was popular enough, but that wouldn’t get the other Inklings to side with her and help the Octarians. And Marie definitely would be against it. “Well…I guess I’ll go home then…”

“Before you go, Callie.”

Footsteps behind Callie startled her. She quickly turned around, spotting the two Octolings as they came out from the shadows. “What the heck, Octavio?! We were having a talk!” She had no weapon on her, but that didn’t stop her from doing a few practice punches.

“Yeah, and this is a gift.”

“Huh?” Callie stopped throwing mock punches and looked at the Octolings more closely. One of them held a pair of shades. “Why though?”

“Why not? You are the first person I’ve talked to in ages.”

“I mean…” Callie reached out and took the shades. “Thanks, I guess.” It was hard to see them properly in the dim lighting. She liked shades. (Very useful for sleeping through boring conversations. No one could see your eyes!) She may as well try them on, seeing as she couldn’t really see them. They were rather comfortable. A pleasant hum filled her ears.

And her mind felt like it was being attacked! She groaned, holding her head as she tried to make sense of what caused the pain. It had to be the shades! She needed to get rid of them!

“Stop her!”

Her arms joined her head in screaming in pain. She fought against the Octolings holding her captive, screaming that she shouldn’t have let her guard down. She thought her arm muscles, toned from carrying the roller in all those rounds of turf war, would be enough to break her free. It felt like she was being held in iron though. The Octolings wouldn’t even budge as Callie thrashed violently, trying desperately to shake the shades off since she could no longer move her arms.

Marie was vanishing. “Please, don’t do this!” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The tears flowing freely down from the shades made no impact on her captors. “Marie! Don’t take Marie away from me!”

“Foolish girl.” Octavio cackled from within his snow globe. “It is you that we are taking away from her.” Listening to Callie’s ramblings, annoying as they were, had paid off handsomely. “Let her go.” He watched smugly as Callie dropped to her knees, no longer fighting the influence of his hypnoshades. The Octolings faded back into the shadows of the cabin, their presence unnecessary now that Callie’s mind belonged to him. “Callie, come break the snow globe.”

Slowly, Callie stood. She staggered over to the snow globe and started pounding on it with her fists. It was almost laughable, how useless she was. Octavio instructed her to find something to break the glass with. She picked up a piece of concrete that must have fallen from the walls and threw it at the snow globe. It bounced off, leaving the smallest crack on the glass. Again, she was instructed. Callie picked up the rubble and heaved it at the snow globe. The glass shattered, showering both Octavio and Callie in shards.

“Finally free.” Octavio said, stretching his tentacles. “Come, Callie. We have much to do if you are going to help the Octarians.”

Beneath her shades, more tears fell as Callie followed Octavio away from the cabin.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I know this is fours years after the game's release.  
> On another, unrelated note, I can't get the image of Callie punching the snow globe out of my head. Does anyone have the skills to draw this?


End file.
